Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2020 – Stage 5 [FULL RACE]

February 8, 2020

Jayco Herald Sun Tour 2020 – Stage 5 – Melbourne – Melbourne : 89,1 km

The 2020 Jayco Herald Sun Tour makes a return to the real mountains, featuring the iconic Victorian climbs of Mount Buller and Falls Creek – both of which have featured in Australia’s oldest stage race before, but which will this week feature together in the same edition for the first time in the event’s 68-year history.

Team Sunweb’s Jai Hindley took what the 23-year-old Australian described as the biggest win of his career at the Herald Sun Tour in Melbourne on Sunday, finishing safely in the bunch on a fifth and final stage won by Mitchelton-Scott’s Kaden Groves ahead of teammate Dion Smith and EF Pro Cycling’s Moreno Hofland.

It was Groves’ second stage win of the week, which meant that the sprinter equalled climber Hindley’s haul of victories on the two mountain stages at this year’s race – at Falls Creek on stage 2 and Mount Buller on stage 4, where the general classification was won.

Hindley held a four-second overall lead over Mitchelton’s Damien Howson after the second stage, with St George Continental youngster Sebastian Berwick a further two seconds back in third place. The podium places switched after stage 4 to Mount Buller after Berwick finished second on the stage to Hindley, and those positions from Saturday were maintained until after Sunday’s final stage, after which Hindley could be crowned the winner, taking the 2020 title by 17 seconds from Berwick – who lost seven seconds on the run-in to the line – and 36 seconds from Howson.

“I’m super relieved to finish the race off and get the win, and repay all the boys for all the hard work they’ve done this week,” Hindley said soon after crossing the finish line next to Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.

“It’s pretty amazing to get my name on that trophy,” he added when reminded of some of the past winners of Australia’s oldest stage race. “There are some pretty big names on there, so for me this is a huge win. It’s the biggest win of my career, and I’m thrilled to get it.”

How it unfolded

As expected, Ben Hill (Team BridgeLane) attacked from the gun, keen to wrap up his lead in the green points jersey competition at the day’s intermediate sprints, with the first coming after five laps of the 4.05km circuit, which would be covered 22 times for a stage distance of 89.1km.

The bunch seemed unsure about letting him get away so early, making for a fast, aggressive start for everyone, and a flurry of attacks from various riders were shut down.

EF Pro Cycling’s James Whelan initiated the first break that stuck on lap 2, and seven riders got clear with him: Hill, Oliver’s Real Food Racing’s Brendon Davids, Hiroshi Tsubaki (Kinan), Alex Cataford (Israel Start-Up Nation), Jay Vine (Nero Continental) and Jesse Ewart (Team Sapura Cycling).

What might have otherwise been a processional final stage was spiced up by the fact that Vine and Ewart, who had made the break, were on equal time overall in fifth and sixth place, respectively, and so wanted to compete against Hill in the intermediate sprints for the bonus seconds on offer, while Hill was chasing the points.

The seven-man breakaway had built up a lead of half a minute after three laps, and when Michael Freiburg (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) made it across, it made eight riders at the head of affairs, heading towards the first of the day’s two intermediate sprints.

Hill led it out for the sprint after five laps, with Vine and Ewart on his wheel, but they remained in that position across the line, meaning that Hill took the maximum six points for the points jersey that he wanted, while Vine took a two-second time bonus to leapfrog Ewart into fifth place overall, leaving Ewart a second behind overall, in sixth.

After that, the eight riders settled down to maintain their lead, working well together to keep their lead hovering around the 40-second mark, although Hill soon decided to drop back, having done enough to secure the green jersey.

Behind them, the bunch was controlled by race leader Hindley’s Sunweb team, and Vine went clear through the second and last intermediate sprint to take the three bonus seconds and extend his overall lead from Ewart.

With two laps of the circuit to go, the seven were still hanging out on their own by about 12 seconds, but the day out in front had taken its toll on them, and on the penultimate climb of Anderson Street, only Ewart and Vine were left.

The two riders came through with one lap to go with a small gap over the chasing peloton, still led by Sunweb squad, but as Ewart and Vine were swept up, Mitchelton-Scott took control to deliver their sprinter, Groves, to victory, with the team’s Dion Smith carrying enough speed through the line to finish ahead of EF Pro Cycling’s Moreno Hofland.

“The guys did a perfect job of keeping me fresh on every stage, and delivering me to the finishes as smoothly as possible, so I think the result is pretty good for the week,” said Groves after taking his second stage victory of the week.

“We’ve been on the podium on almost every stage, so it’s been a successful week for the team.”

Results :
1 Kaden Groves (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 1:58:38
2 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
3 Moreno Hofland (Ned) EF Pro Cycling
4 Michael Rice (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
5 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Start-Up Nation
6 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
7 Scott McGill (USA) Aevolo
8 Luke Mudgway (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy
9 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
10 Tyler Stites (USA) Aevolo
11 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
12 Hayden McCormick (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy
13 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
14 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
15 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team Sunweb
16 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental
17 James Oram (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy
18 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Kinan 0:00:07
19 Sebastian Berwick (Aus) St George Continental
20 Marcos Garcia Fernandez (Spa) Kinan
21 Jay Vine (Aus) Nero Continental
22 Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:00:09
23 Liam White (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
24 Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling
25 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Pro Cycling
26 Rudy Porter (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team
27 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Pro Cycling
28 Charles-Etienne Chretien (Can) Aevolo
29 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb
30 Benjamin Hill (Aus) Team Bridgelane
31 Samuel Jenner (Aus) Team Bridgelane
32 Godfrey Slattery (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team
33 Ben Carman (Aus) Nero Continental
34 Samuel Hill (Aus) Team Bridgelane
35 Conor Schunk (USA) Aevolo
36 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Pro Cycling 0:00:14
37 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:19
38 Alex Heaney (NZl) St George Continental 0:00:23
39 Yasuharu Nakajima (Jpn) Kinan 0:00:28
40 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Pro Cycling
41 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane
42 Thomas Bolton (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
43 Carter Turnbull (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:00:40
44 Mark O’Brien (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team
45 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
46 Calan White (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:00:44
47 Max Kanter (Ger) Team Sunweb
48 Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
49 Salvador Guardiola Tora (Spa) Kinan
50 Ryan Thomas (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
51 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
52 Riley Fleming (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:00:48
53 Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:00:50
54 Joel Yates (NZl) St George Continental
55 Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
56 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:53
57 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Pro Cycling
58 Sebastian Barrett (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
59 Ari Scott (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:01:05
60 Jesse Coyle (Aus) Nero Continental 0:01:12
61 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Kinan 0:01:17
62 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:01:23
63 Joshua Kench (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:01:26
64 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
65 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb
66 Ben Metcalfe (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:01:28
67 Connor Reardon (Aus) St George Continental 0:01:29
68 Michael Potter (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
69 Christopher Miller (Aus) Nero Continental
70 Ashley Mackay (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
71 Benjamin Perry (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
72 Samuel Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:42
73 Dylan McKenna (Aus) Nero Continental
74 Ethan Batt (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:01:46
75 David Williams (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:02:00
76 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:02:03
77 Hiroshi Tsubaki (Jpn) Kinan 0:02:48
78 Brendon Davids (RSA) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:03:42
79 James Whelan (Aus) EF Pro Cycling
80 Michael Freiberg (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast

Final General Classification :
1 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 14:50:23
2 Sebastian Berwick (Aus) St George Continental 0:00:17
3 Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:36
4 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Pro Cycling 0:01:00
5 Jay Vine (Aus) Nero Continental 0:01:28
6 Jesse Ewart (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:01:32
7 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:01:59
8 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Kinan 0:02:02
9 Rudy Porter (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:02:41
10 James Oram (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:02:50
11 Marcos Garcia Fernandez (Spa) Kinan 0:03:01
12 Charles-Etienne Chretien (Can) Aevolo 0:03:29
13 Hayden McCormick (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:04:05
14 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Pro Cycling 0:05:09
15 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:06:21
16 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:07:00
17 Samuel Hill (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:07:19
18 Samuel Jenner (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:07:37
19 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:07:50
20 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Pro Cycling 0:08:35
21 Conor Schunk (USA) Aevolo 0:09:29
22 James Whelan (Aus) EF Pro Cycling 0:09:42
23 Ari Scott (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:09:56
24 Mark O’Brien (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:10:54
25 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:11:05
26 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:13:50
27 Marcus Culey (Aus) Team Sapura Cycling 0:14:03
28 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Pro Cycling 0:14:07
29 Carter Turnbull (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:14:37
30 Calan White (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:15:30
31 Benjamin Perry (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:15:55
32 Salvador Guardiola Tora (Spa) Kinan 0:16:18
33 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:17:33
34 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:17:46
35 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:18:23
36 Angus Lyons (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:18:42
37 Brendon Davids (RSA) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:18:44
38 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:19:38
39 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:20:57
40 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:21:22
41 Sebastian Presley (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:21:53
42 Michael Freiberg (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:23:53
43 Dylan McKenna (Aus) Nero Continental 0:25:48
44 Ben Carman (Aus) Nero Continental 0:26:08
45 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Pro Cycling 0:27:09
46 Ben Metcalfe (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:27:48
47 Connor Reardon (Aus) St George Continental 0:28:10
48 Ryan Cavanagh (Aus) St George Continental 0:29:42
49 Alex Heaney (NZl) St George Continental 0:30:22
50 Moreno Hofland (Ned) EF Pro Cycling 0:30:29
51 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:30:33
52 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:30:34
53 Joel Yates (NZl) St George Continental 0:32:17
54 Tyler Stites (USA) Aevolo 0:32:31
55 Ryan Thomas (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:32:50
56 Michael Potter (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:33:14
57 Godfrey Slattery (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:33:50
58 Sebastian Barrett (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:35:32
59 Michael Rice (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:36:01
60 Kaden Groves (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:36:11
61 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team Sunweb 0:36:21
62 Max Kanter (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:36:31
63 Christopher Miller (Aus) Nero Continental 0:38:39
64 Liam White (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:38:53
65 Riley Fleming (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing
66 Ashley Mackay (Aus) ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast 0:40:22
67 Scott McGill (USA) Aevolo 0:40:27
68 Thomas Bolton (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:40:51
69 Hiroshi Tsubaki (Jpn) Kinan 0:41:04
70 Yasuharu Nakajima (Jpn) Kinan 0:42:42
71 Luke Mudgway (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:43:32
72 Joshua Kench (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy
73 Genki Yamamoto (Jpn) Kinan 0:43:38
74 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:43:50
75 Ethan Batt (NZl) Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy 0:45:48
76 Benjamin Hill (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:46:08
77 David Williams (Aus) Kordamentha Australian National Team 0:46:24
78 Conor Murtagh (Aus) Oliver’s Real Food Racing 0:51:34
79 Jesse Coyle (Aus) Nero Continental 0:51:48
80 Samuel Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:55:32